The Easiest Way to Stay Healthy on Campus

Ready? Walk. Walk wherever you go and whenever you can. Whenever you have to go somewhere on or near campus, make walking your first option. The benefits of walking are extraordinary. The most obvious one is that it is stealth exercise. In a typical day on campus, you might end up walking several miles. You will burn calories, build fitness, and sharpen your mind.

The less obvious benefit is that you will probably get to where you are going on time. With few exceptions, short trips anywhere on or near a college campus take less time when you walk than they do by car. If there is any kind of traffic incident, the time difference might be enormous. This may even be true for campus transportation like a shuttle bus. Traffic on or around campus may slow the shuttle to the point where walking is the most sensible alternative.

Walking may also give you a little time to communicate with the people in your life. When you are walking from one place to another on campus, you can give your parents a call. After they get over the initial shock of hearing from you, they will be pleased to hear that you are walking someplace. You can call your friends, too, but make your parents—who probably see you infrequently and likely are funding your college experience—a priority.

There is one other benefit of walking. You can simply enjoy the sights and sounds of campus, let your mind wander, think creatively, or relax. Come to think of it, if you started walking more now, you’d probably start enjoying these benefits immediately.

And one more thing, walking includes taking the stairs!

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